#then once he’s a wizard maybe Evocation or Abjuration

[chocoloom]

Dudes wake up new crossover just dropped

it twas only a matter of time before i broke on my own fantasy au design nonsense. my dnd bones.

[timbrrwolfe]

Ok, as promised I'll do a quick list with summaries of each character build I have in mind to at least try in BG3.

Established characters

Rachel from Animorphs

Basically the idea is that she got plucked from the ending of the series (iykyk) and landed on the nautiloid, trading one mind controlling slug enemy for another. I just feel like there's a lot of meat to dig into mashing Animorphs together with the story of BG3. So much so that I considered and dismissed making her playthrough a Dark Urge one, but honestly? I've been reconsidering that lately. We'll see whenever I end up getting around to playing as her. She'll be a Circle of the Moon Druid, natch. But I may also dip a few levels into Barbarian. Just for flavor.

Harry Dresden of Dresden Files

I just finished reading White Knight, and the iteration somewhere among that and Proven Guilty is the one I've put a build together for so far. Which is only really relevant insofar as that he also gets a small multiclass bump for flavor. Iykyk. Again. I actually specifically jotted down the build ideas for him because I wanted to compare it to where he's at by the time the series ends. Obviously a wizard, and if you've read the books you can imagine what kind of spells he'll be using. Lots of fire. Shield. Some Thunderwave here and there. Probably Gust of Wind. I actually might need to skim what I've already read to get refreshed on all the magic he uses. I waffled about the school for a bit but it'll probably end up being Evocation. If not, then Transmutation. Probably. But Evocation's likely where I'll land.

Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka

This one's actually pretty similar to Dresden. Except British. And he's not much for magic outside of his divination magic (so, naturally, he'll be a Divination School Wizard). Which basically means I'll have to figure out spell choices that are within his limited scope of combat. Stuff like Blur/Haste (because he's technically reacting to things seconds in the future, so he's better at dodging), Fog Cloud (as that's a prepared item he keeps on hand), and I don't even know what else off the top of my head. But once I knock out the library books I have out I'll probably be getting back to this series so hopefully that'll help me figure it out.

Zuko from ATLA

Pretty simple. But maybe surprisingly not Monk. Rather, Fighter or even Ranger, for Two Weapon Fighting so ya boy can have his scimitars. And then probably the rest in Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer (this is what I said it was spoken for in my last post). Because of course. Cheating a bit to mention two other builds that are related. I'll likely do a proper Four Elements Monk playthrough as Korra, rather than Aang. And I'm considering trying to do specifically an Airbender build with mostly monk and maybe a level of Wizard to shore up some Airbender-y abilities that aren't present as Monk. Or just make them Githyanki to take advantage of some racial features for the same purpose. Gotta think on it more.

Jedi/Sith from Star Wars

Gonna put these two together as well since I haven't dug too deep into it. But the Jedi build will likely be Fighter/Cleric, or just Paladin. Dueling fighting style, regardless. Sith will likely be similar, except Warlock over Cleric/Paladin. Or just a different flavor of Cleric or Paladin. Again, I'd have to actually take time to flesh it out more and figure it out.

I think that's about it for established characters, off the top of my head. So onto

OCs

Gladiator Pit Wizard

A build I came up with a while back that I don't know if I ever intended to play so much as use for a story that kind of bloomed from it. A couple levels in Fighter, probably more levels in Wizard (Abjuration School, both because the first spell he cast - by accident - was Shield, and because as a battle mage having extra shielding is generally a smart move.) Basically the plan is for him to be fairly tanky while still being able to deal a good amount of damage. Might also be some spice thrown in the build here or there, tied to the story I may or may not ever write. Maybe a dip into a level of another class. Or a cute feat choice. We'll see.

Pseudo Vampire

As far as I know you can't make a vampire in BG3. At least not without mods (which I don't really intend to get into until I'm bored with the vanilla game. Which. Could be a while.) So instead, when I had a dream featuring a vampire that I then wanted to make in the game, I looked into what I could do about it. The answer, it turns out, was a School of Necromancy Wizard. And some levels in Ranger. Either Beastmaster for some familiar summoning, or Gloomstalker for some shadowy stealth shenanigans. Probably the latter, since I can just use Find Familiar anyway unless I want a Wolf or something. And shadowy shenanigans are about the right level of drama for her. Because she's the first evil character I have in mind (an itch that I've had more as I've done my current playthrough). Though her particular brand of evil is more megalomania "I'm the best and the world is my playground and everybody is my toy. And if some toys break, oh well."

Jaded Tiefling

I'm actually not sure what the build is gonna be here. Probably yet another melee + magic multiclass. The idea behind this character is she ran into trouble as a child due to prejudice/fear/hatred based on the fact that she looked like a demon. Nobody came to her aid and nobody helped her. So she had to help herself. Because of that, her mindset is now of the "if you're not strong enough to save yourself, then perish" variety. So she'll likely be another evil one, in that she won't be saving anyone, just looking out for herself. Of course there's a situation very early in the game that is a bit of a dilemma between her credo and her history, so that'll be interesting to sort out with her. Obviously still gotta hash this one out a bunch. She basically came into existence when I was like "Ok but /who/ would I do an evil playthrough with" when the itch started for that.

Bardbarian

He's a Barbarian. He's a Bard. He's a bardbarian. Half-orc whose tribe figured out how to use magic to bolster their martial prowess. He uses a drum and probably sings in some capacity. Also uses a club or some other blunt weapon both to fight and to beat his drum to call up the magic.

The Halberd Soldier

This one is actually a character I made for a campaign that I played about half a session of once many years ago. (I was very bad about getting dragged into a session by my cousin, taking forever to build a character, and then maybe playing one day and then never returning for that campaign). Basically all three of us were soldiers in some army and I don't even remember what the story was supposed to be. So all I have as far as defining characteristics for her are like. Uses polearms Violently protective of other women ... And honestly that's about it. Obviously gonna start her as a fighter, but the goal is to get the Polearm Master feat and maybe pick up some levels in Paladin or something for extra damage. That said she's very much on the backburner until that feat is actually fixed from its current bugged state in BG3 (unless they fixed it in the latest patch, I didn't look too closely).

It Me

Once upon a time I took an inventory to determine what I would be in DnD. Unsurprising, based on the whole Christian upbringing thing (a rocky relationship but still one I hold to) I scored Cleric the most overall. Then some friends also took the inventory. And then we did a one shot. And then another, like a year or two later. I ended up going with Light Domain over Life Domain because it felt a bit more fitting. Also because AoE Fire and Radiant damage. But that one shot was at like level 6, and I also scored pretty high in Druid, with a couple classes tying for third, so I might do a little multiclass if I make this one in BG3

And then there's

The Incredibly Basic Ideas

which is basically just

Storm Surge (Storm Sorc/Cleric nutty lightning damage build)

Transmutation Wizard

Beastmaster Ranger

Some kind of build that's all about shoving enemies around and maybe having setups that do bonus damage from that

Amoral Merc who will basically throw in with the highest bidder, as another flavor of a likely evil playthrough.

Probably a couple monks

Probably a couple bards

and other sort of more generic ideas that I haven't gotten any further than that with.

[saphirered]

Could you do one with essek where S/O is a part of the M9 and is a Eldritch Knight and he is just simping over a strong + smart reader? (Maybe even S/O saving essek?) I hope you have an amazing day!

I’m sorry this took a while. Work have been hectic so I’ve hardly had time to write. I hope this is to your liking and have a great day yourself 😘

At first glance you definitely fit into the ‘heavy hitters’ category with a physique displaying your strength, on par with Yasha. And while you don’t hide the fact you could crush skulls with your fists you do not live up to the strong-as-a-giant-dumb-as-a-rock stereotype. You are what some may refer to as the perfect balance between ‘jock’ and book nerd; days off spent training during the day while studying well into the wee morning hours. You are a magnet for knowledge and your expertises far surpass the limits of trivial subjects they focus on the arcane. Your roots come from Evocation and Abjuration but you’ve been expanding your knowledge beyond those two schools. The prospect of a ninth school of magic, one you had no access or even knowledge of before brought great promise of broadening your horizons.

When you met Essek for the first time he might have been slightly dismissive. Not disrespectful in any way from first impressions you fell into the same category as Beau and Yasha, presumably just different. He was nothing but friendly and respectful towards you but the moment Caleb asked to learn some Dunamancy and when Essek agreed your request to join in on this lesson surprised him. Regardless, he happily allowed you to join. After your early morning runs you found yourself at Essek’s tower discussing books you had read, things you had encountered and even openly deliberating the ongoing conflict. 

You had lost track of time after a quick sparing session with Beau and got dragged into her next routine with Fjord. You ended up having to correct Beau’s ‘teachings’ at times to the point where you took over ending up into another round of sparring sessions with Fjord.

“Again.” Fjord comes at you again swinging his sword. While he certainly knows how to use a falchion his proper technique could use some improvement. You block, parry, turn left around him, strike with the pommel of your own sword against his back and send him stumbling. 

“Footwork. Again.” You say once he’s recovered. He makes sure his feet are in the right position, blade angled right and takes a deep breath as he swings again. This time more calculated and mindful of where he steps and which foot he moves first. You block his hit.

“Much better.” You praise as you push him back putting some distance between the two of you. This time he does not stumble but instead stays steady on his feet. This time you strike giving him the opportunity to parry. He does but comes in a little too close to properly strike and leaves his defences open, a deadly move in close quarters. You shoulder check and kick his feet from under him. Fjord falls to the ground and you hear Beau snicker from behind. You hold out your hand to help Fjord to his feet but behind you you feel a punch hit your side. Sneaky little… You take the punch and while Fjord tries to pull you down you instead pull him up, the momentum pushing him in Beauregard behind you and the both of them barely manage to catch each other. 

“This is how we’re gonna play now?” You give a ‘come at me’ motion and with a grin Beau does. Dropping your sword to the side and out of the way deciding when dealing with a monk not wearing any kind of armour or protection, you’re not intending to actually hurt it’s probably best to not use live steel. Hands up defensive you see Fjord dispel his blade into its dimension too. Game on. 

Beau strikes. You take the first hit but counter with a kick at her shins and a punch to her shoulder. Fjord moves in next you prevent him from moving to your back and manage to keep him to your side. With a high kick you kick Fjord back a few feet. Beau takes this opportunity to go for your other leg but you stand strong and turn it to your favour coming back around with a kick to her side. This goes on for a while, a back and forth of Beau and Fjord teaming up against you. They manage to land some good hit but so do you, to the point where Fjord is almost out of the fight. You notice them make eye contact. You call shenanigans. 

Fjords summons his blade swinging down so you summon yours back to your hand, side stepping and blocking the attack with a quick parry sending Fjord to the ground on his ass. This move took you into Beau’s space who took the opportunity to hit you. You could feel your limbs nearly freeze up for a moment but shrug off the stun. If they’re playing dirty so would you. With an open palm you strike against her sternum releasing a shocking grasp. For good measure you use your newly acquired sapping sting spell to knock her prone. You walk over to Fjord kicking the blade away from his grasp, a foot on his chest while you hold the tip of your blade towards Beau. 

“Cheaters don’t win against me.” You grin helping Fjord to his feet and dropping the blade out of offensive mode. You grab Fjords blade and hand it back to him with a pat on his shoulder. You notice Beau is awfully quiet after her defeat. You see her staring at the doorway with a raised eyebrow and a grin as she crosses her arms. 

“Looks like we got an audience to witness our ass whooping.” Your back still turned you expect it to be one of the others. 

“Seems like he’s been paying more attention to our champion than us, though. Let’s leave them be.” Fjord picks up his things and begins to push Beau out of the room. You finally turn around and see who witnessed your little training session and when you see the floating white-haired wizard looking at you in awe you have a minor panic attack.

“Essek, by the Storm Lord. I am so sorry. I must have lost track of time…” You begin apologising as he is taken out of his trance. 

“Give me ten minutes. I’ll get changed and freshen up a bit if you can still spare the time. I’m so sorry. I should have told Caleb to remind me of the time.” You go on and Essek floats over to you. 

“No need for apologies. You were otherwise engaged. Though I would still appreciate your presence in this endeavour.” He reminds you of your appointment later in the day, or rather now. They had caught a spy with a similar skillset to yours and Essek had asked for your expertise in their questioning. 

“Of course yes.” You take him back out of the training room and to your chambers. He waits outside your door while you get changed and make yourself look presentable washing the sweat from your skin and change into your regular clothes. 

After you’re done the two of you make your way to the prison making small talk. Essek seems a bit more awkward than usual to the point you swear you see a slight blush creep onto his cheeks at one point but that might just be the cold. 

“You have learned quickly. Clever use of your newfound spells.” Essek mentally slaps himself for the way the words came out. Meant as a compliment but sounded like a dig at you. 

“I know. I’m sorry. If anyone knows you don’t just use combat spells for fun and games it’s me. It won’t happen again. Believe me, your teachings are much more valuable than to be used for fun and games.” You really didn’t mean to slip up and use Dunamancy for something as trivial as a fun sparring match. You should have known better. 

“No. My apologies. I did not mean to say it like that. You use your spells cleverly. They compliment your skills and your skills are… exceptional.” Was that a direct compliment coming from the Shadowhand himself? You raise an eyebrow at him pretty sure he caught onto your bewildered look. You feel the blood rush to your cheeks. If you knew one thing about the man it was he did not just give compliments. Not to anyone and when he did you had not witnessed it. 

“So about this prisoner…” You change the subject as you approach the prison. There seems to be some kind of commotion going on and no guards up front. You both exchange glances before rushing inside. 

There’s a cowering guard in the front room. Essek goes over to him and seems to have some colourful words for the man while you keep an eye out around. The limited light makes it more difficult to see but you can hear just fine. After Essek finishes the guard rushes out of the prison, to get reinforcements you assume. You begin moving towards the hall that leads deeper into the Dungeon of Penance while Essek joins you. You push a finger to your lips before pointing ahead. 

Watching up ahead you see a few unmoving figures. Essek notices too but stays at your side. It’s too quiet and there’s too many hiding places. 

“Any weapons on them?” You whisper as Essek takes a look. 

“All standard equipment accounted for except for one long sword, a dagger and a crossbow.” Essek relays back to you inspecting the bodies. 

“I assume this is your prisoner’s doing.” Right as you say that someone jumps out from the shadows and makes a run for the Shadowhand. You notice before he does and grab Essek by the collar of his mantle pushing him away and to the other side of you as you summon your sword to deflect the attack. A second attack is made but you manage to prevent it from hitting Essek who’s still caught off guard. In your move to grab the blade you take out some gold dust, speak the words and the swinging blade is stuck in the air. The prisoner tries to grab it but is unable to move it, stuck mid-air. 

“That wasn’t very nice!” You retaliate with an attack. Hit. Essek manages to cast a quick magic missile striking the prisoner who puts some distance between you. He takes out a crossbow and aims it at the two of you. 

“You really prepared to die here? Put down your weapons and we can figure this out. No need for more bloodshed.” You try to persuade. From the corner of your eye you watch Essek reach for his components. The movement provokes the prisoner and he releases an arrow. You just in time manage to deflect trajectory of the arrow and prevent it from striking Essek but the second arrow scrapes your arm, the majority of the impact reduced by the edge of your bracer, it still leaves a bit of a scratch. You’ve had far worse. Essek looks at you bewildered, eyes focused only on you.

“I suggest you do what you save the staring for a later moment and help first?” You say in a half joking manner. He snaps out of it. Essek completes his spell and the prisoner is pulled backwards seemingly pulled in by some gravitational pull crushing his bones. The body falls to the ground unmoving. You go over to the body to make sure the prisoner is actually done for. 

“You are… exquisite.” You can barely hear Essek say under his breath. You freeze up for a moment not having seen that one coming. At that moment the cavalry comes in. He makes sure everything is sorted and you can go on your way, leaving them to clean up the mess, currently no use for either of you. 

“Are you hurt?” He breaks the silence while the two of you make your way back. You look at your arm. Nothing but a small scratch. But a fraction lower and it might have cut something vital but you know what you’re doing.

“No. All peachy.” The silence continues, both of you retreating into your own minds as you walk, or well, float in Essek’s case. You take a moment to look back at the past hour, his words repeating in your head and his ‘off’ behaviour. 

“‘You are… exquisite.’? That’s what you said before.” You try to mimic his voice. You may not be the best impressionist but you got the message across. Essek goes to speak but presses his lips back together swallowing whatever he was going to say. 

“Don’t tell me it’s going to take another fight with someone to get answers out of you. I might just have to show off in that case.” You wink jokingly with a half smile. 

“I wouldn’t complain.” That comment leaves your mouth agape and you stop in your tracks for a hot second to recover. 

“I don’t know if that’s sarcasm, a challenge or you actually mean it.” You fall back in line at his side nearing the tower.

“I wouldn’t complain.” Essek repeats once more.

“Well then, perhaps I should find a nice and rowdy tavern or talk to the Aurora Watch to join some training sessions to grant your wish.” You suggest only half serious with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a date.” He returns your expression as you reach his front door. 

“Though, for now I think some reading would be just fine. Would you like to join?” He opens the door and waits for you. You step inside but stop and lean in a little bit.

“It’s a date.” You say with a smug smile and kiss his cheek as you enter looking over your shoulder. You seem to have the ability to make the Shadowhand swoon and boy, could you get used to it. 

[tigerkirby215]

5e Olaf, the Beserker build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Phroilan Gardner. Made for Riot Games.)

Olaf sounds like ProZD’s Archibald voice. Especially Olaf’s voice lines for using his Q it sounds exactly like ProZD’s “Huah! I think that enemy got the point!” Like I’m not crazy right? Please tell me I’m not the only one who hears this.

Anyways Olaf has been on my To Do List ever since I realized that I haven’t made a single champion whose name starts with the letter O. My desire to make Olaf was only further accentuated by the Sentinels of Light event, even if his inclusion in that event could best be summed up with...

But I won’t ignore Olaf just because the Sentinels of Light event was a flop. He’s still a compelling character that I have actually gotten some requests to make. After all: the dual-axe wielding Barbarian is an iconic image!

I mean, Olaf is probably just going to be 20 levels in Beserker Barbarian so I don’t know why you need me to make a build for that.

GOALS

C'mon, I won't hurt you - We’ll need ways to heal when we harm in the middle of combat.

Death by steel! - Swing axe, throw axe; unga bunga me play Olaf.

The might of Lokfar approaches - I didn’t manage to do so with Mundo but Olaf is going to need to have CC immunity.

RACE

Olaf is a human; feel free to pick a different race like Goliath or even Custom Lineage to justify him being Iceborn but Variant Human is still the best option. Increase your Strength by 1 as well as your Constitution, grab any skill proficiency of your choice as it honestly doesn’t matter much for Olaf (maybe you should’ve been Custom Lineage for Darkvision after all?), and the Primordial language because I’m sure you picked up on the language of the wild.

For your feat you have a choice: Dual Wielder will let you wield two d8 Battleaxes (instead of d6 Handaxes) and also increase your AC by 1 while dual-wielding, but the Fighting Initiate feat will let you grab Two-Weapon Fighting which will let you add your Strength modifier to your second axe’s swing. I persually opted for Dual Wielder as it gives you more benefits overall, and we’ll be getting ways to throw axes without having to hold onto them first.

ABILITY SCORES

15; STRENGTH - I mean, you’re a shirtless Barbarian running around with two axes. You thought this would be a DEX build?

14; CONSTITUTION - The reason you can’t die is because you’re so hardy. Sucks!

13; CHARISMA - Despite Riot’s great attempts at writing you as poorly as possible you do still have some sort of Charisma. Remember that Charisma is force of personality, not necessarily good looks or personal hygiene. Charisma is needed for Intimidation as well as multiclassing.

12; DEXTERITY - You need to be quick on your feet to run at your enemies with reckless abandon.

10; WISDOM - If you were wise you wouldn’t be trying to kill yourself.

8; INTELLIGENCE - You stopped caring about education the moment you were born. Battle is the only thing in your blood!

This build is also quite viable with Point Buy, going for a stat array like 15 / 12 / 14 / 8 / 8 / 14 if you want lower mental stats but higher combat stats.

BACKGROUND

The Uthgardt Tribe Member background from the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide is basically the Outlander background but you actually belonged to Freljordian society once. Regardless you do get proficiency in Athletics as well as Survival (”Survival” as in finding food to eat, not as in keeping safe on the battlefield!), a musical instrument or artisan’s tool of your choice (choose whatever you fancy and make your own Olaf, as long as it’s something a warrior would do! I personally opted for Smith’s Tools to sharpen your axes), and a language of your choice (pick whatever language they spoke back in the villages.)

Your background Uthgardt Heritage is the Outlander’s Wanderer feature with extra steps: along with being able to find food and water you are also treated well by nomads and wanderers who have heard of your glorious battles!

(Artwork by Marie Magny and West Studios. Made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - BARBARIAN 1

Starting off as a Barbarian because what else would we be? You get proficiency in two skills from the Barbarian list: Intimidation is an obvious must and Perception will help you find good fights to take!

As a Barbarian you get Unarmored Defense equal to your Dexterity plus your Constitution, which is currently a 13... Well Medium Armor is an option if you want to finally put on a shirt. And of course as a Barbarian you can Rage to deal more damage and resist incoming damage! You can’t cast spells while Raging, but that won’t matter, right? It’s not like I’m about to give you caster levels.

LEVEL 2 - FIGHTER 1

Quickly hopping over to Fighter to further your martial skills. You can grab a Fighting Style like Thrown Weapon Fighting to draw weapons in the same action you make to throw them, and also do +2 damage with thrown weapon attacks. See? Told you we’d be able to throw axes easily!

You also get Second Wind for some not-quite-Lifesteal to keep you in the fight to claim even more glory! Certainly not to stay alive.

LEVEL 3 - FIGHTER 2

Well another Fighter level for Action Surge is certainly worth it, as you can push yourself to destroy your foes!

LEVEL 4 - FIGHTER 3

But we need one more Fighter level to be able to get our axes back after we throw them. Eldritch Knights get Weapon Bond, allowing them to always keep two weapons on hand and never lose them. While bonded with a weapon you can’t be disarmed of them, and you can use a Bonus Action to recall a weapon if it’s not in your hands. My suggestion would be to bond to a Battleaxe and a Handaxe, so you can’t be disarmed of at least one of your main weapons and can also call your thrown axe back to throw it again!

You also get Spellcasting as an Eldritch Knight: You learn two cantrips from the Wizard list, and three spells as well. You may be thinking “wait; didn’t you dump Intelligence?” That is correct, but you don’t need Intelligence to cast Light to see with your dumb human eyes (I mean technically you need Intelligence if you want to cast Light on someone else but it’s probably easier just to light up your axe and throw it at them) or Prestidigitation, which is a better spell for creating bonfires than the actual Create Bonfire spell.

Your leveled spells have to be from either the Evocation or Abjuration schools, but thankfully Absorb Elements and Shield are both from the Abjuration school and also don’t need Intelligence. Protect yourself from damage to have a truly glorious death! Because it’s not like blocking attacks will keep you alive.

You can also learn one spell from any school and uhhhh... Pick your poison between Jump and Longstrider, to make it easier to chase your foes. Are there probably better spells? Yeah, but do they fit Olaf?

(Artwork by Xiao Guang Sun and West Studios. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 5 - PALADIN 1

Jumping over to Paladin for a few abilities, such as Divine Sense to find some things that will put up a good fight like Fiends, Undead, or... Celestials? I’m sure they hit hard! You can also find a good desecrated (or consecrated) battleground with this ability, as I’m sure there will be good enemies there! You only know of an enemy’s type however, not their name. And if they’re hiding from you this ability won’t make it any easier to find them.

You also get Lay on Hands, which is like lifesteal you can give to allies! You have a pool of hit points equal to your Paladin level times 5, and you can use it to either heal (at a rate of 1 point per hitpoint) or neutralize a poison or disease affecting a target. (5 Lay on Hands health to neutralize one poison or disease.) Dying to natural causes isn’t a glorious death, brother!

LEVEL 6 - PALADIN 2

We’ll also need second level in Paladin to get a Fighting Style, but since Wizards of the Coast hates fun you can’t can’t take Two-Weapon Fighting, and since we’re running around in our birthday suit Defense also isn’t an option. The best official Fighting Style you can take is Blind Fighting (Blessed Warrior is okay too if you want Guidance I guess) but talk to your DM about potentially letting you take Two-Weapon Fighting? It’s not like it’s OP or anything (in all honesty it’s kinda shit.)

Paladins also get... more Spellcasting?! Disgusting! Well this spellcasting is based on your Charisma modifier instead of your Intelligence, which might be why we have it at a 14. But even so you can’t prepare that many spells: Divine Favor will let you empower all your attacks with more damage for some Vicious Strikes, Cure Wounds will again be acting as life-not-quite-steal, and Shield of Faith will let you or an ally absorb more blows, not that you want to live or anything. Also remember to check the Player’s Handbook to see how many spell slots you’d have after mixing two casters together.

But I still think the best course of action for your spell slots is to use them for Divine Smite! Throw caution and magic to the wind to make a Reckless Swing that does extra Radiant damage (depending on the level of the spell slot used.) The Smite deals 2d8 of damage for a first level slot, and an additional d8 of damage for every slot above first. (The simple way to remember this is that you roll a number of d8s equal to the spell slot used plus one.) If the enemy is a Fiend or Undead the damage increases by a d8! The maximum level spell slot you can use for this is a 4th level slot (for 5d8 damage, or 6d8 against a Fiend or Undead), but I doubt we’ll get spell slots that big.

LEVEL 7 - PALADIN 3

We may as well take a third level in Paladin for a Sacred Oath, and you swore an Oath of Glory in battle! Along with Guiding Bolt and Heroism being added to your spell list (as if you can cast spells lmao) you get two Channel Divinity options: Peerless Athlete turns you into... well, a Peerless Athlete with advantage on Athletics and Acrobatics checks. You can also carry, push, drag, and lift twice as much weight as normal, and to top it off the distance of your long and high jumps increases by 10 feet. This boost lasts for 10 minutes which should be more than enough to give it your all in battle!

Alternatively for some more not-quite-lifesteal Inspiring Smite can be activated after you Smite to give yourself or nearby allies within 30 feet temporary hitpoints. The total number of temporary hit points gained by this ability equals 2d8 + your Paladin level, and you can distribute them amongst yourself and your allies however you wish. Technically the most gameplay-accurate way to split the Temp HP would be to take it all yourself but being helpful has its benefits. A battle is truly glorious if fought alongside an army of companions!

You also get Divine Health, because Glory doesn’t die on sick days!

LEVEL 8 - PALADIN 4

It’s about time to take that 4th Paladin level to finally get an Ability Score Improvement: +2 to Strength for stronger axe swings is an obvious choice!

You can also prepare another spell like Bless, which will make it easier for you and your allies to smite your foes and survive their blows! Wait, what was that about surviving?

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 9 - PALADIN 5

Since it’s so close we may as well take the 5th level of Paladin so you can finally make an Extra Attack. That means you have two attacks normally and a third attack with your Bonus Action thanks to Two-Weapon Fighting!

You can also prepare second level Paladin spells now, and the Oath of Glory gives you Enhance Ability and Magic Weapon as spells you can cast. Believe it or not these are actually useful, even with your low spellcasting modifier!

LEVEL 10 - PALADIN 6

The 6th level of Paladin is honestly too good to pass up: even though Aura of Protection is only adding +2 to all your saving throws (since your Charisma is kinda uhhh... not good?) that’s still +2 to all your saves, as well as the saves of your allies within 10 feet. That’s like, two whole Rings of Protection!

Speaking of rings: Warding Bond was added to the Paladin spell list thanks to Tasha’s and it’ll let you take damage for your allies to die in their place! As long as you don’t mind wearing some platnium rings in your beard, at least.

LEVEL 11 - PALADIN 7

What we’re really here for is the 7th level of Glory Paladin. Aura of Alacrity will increase the speed of you and your allies within 5 feet (not 10, because Wizards of the Coast are weird) by 10 feet, so you can charge at your foes with the might of Ragnarok!

LEVEL 12 - PALADIN 8

But we may as well take the 8th level of Paladin for another Ability Score Improvement: cap off your Strength for the deadliest strikes possible.

You can also prepare another spell but it would be wise to wait for...

(Artwork by JoJo So. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 13 - PALADIN 9

9th level Paladins can prepare third level spells like Crusader’s Mantle to give all your nearby allies the Divine Favor buff to rush into battle with you! But the main reason we’re dipping this deep into Paladin is for the two spells from the Oath of Glory: Protection from Energy perhaps isn’t all that fitting, but Haste is insanely useful and powerful. More attacks, more speed, more... armor? Well, it’s no matter. More glorious battle!

LEVEL 14 - PALADIN 10

10th level Paladins won’t be swayed by magic swaying their hearts! Aura of Courage will let you (and your allies within 10 feet) laugh in the face of death as you gain immunity to the Frightened condition!

You can also prepare another spell like Aura of Vitality: you can use it to heal yourself but healing your allies will lead to a far more glorious story to tell of your death.

LEVEL 15 - PALADIN 11

I promise that we’ll go back to Barbarian levels soon but 11th level Paladins get a huge boost to their damage output thanks to Improved Divine Smite. This ability affects all your attacks (not just your Smites despite the name) to give them an extra d8 of Radiant damage. This has obvious synergy with your choice to swing two axes since your Two-Weapon Fighting attack will also get that extra d8 of damage!

LEVEL 16 - PALADIN 12

Okay but let’s quickly grab the 12th level of Paladin first. You can either increase your Constitution for more health and AC, or your Charisma for better saving throws and spellcasting. I personally opted for Charisma but if you value health and AC then Constitution is good too!

Oh and yeah you can prepare more spells, but there aren’t really that many other third level spells I want.

(Artwork by Alvin Lee. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 17 - PALADIN 13

That’s because 13th level Paladins finally get 4th spells which most importantly means Freedom of Movement! There you go you finally have Ragnarok’s CC immunity! You also get Compulsion which sure would be a good spell if you had any Charisma to actually cast it.

But you can also prepare more spells like Aura of Purity so you and your allies can shrug off whatever your foes might throw at you to stop you from reaching them, or Death Ward which you ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT USE ON YOURSELF.

LEVEL 18 - PALADIN 14

Okay but the 14th level of Paladin gives you Cleansing Touch, letting you cleanse spells without spell slots to cast Freedom of Movement. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier and regain all expended uses at the end of a Long Rest.

You could also perhaps prepare another spell like... Aid? I don’t know really by this point the magic is secondary. We’ll be going back to Barbarian soon anyways.

LEVEL 19 - PALADIN 15

But 15th level Glory Paladins get Glorious Defense, and we can’t pass that up! When you or another creature you can see (technically an enemy if you so desire!) within 10 feet of you is hit by an attack roll, you can use your reaction to grant a bonus to the target’s AC against that attack equal to your Charisma modifier. If the attack misses you can make one weapon attack against the attacker as part of this reaction, provided the attacker is within your weapon’s range. You can do this a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, and regain all uses at the end of a Long Rest.

LEVEL 20 - PALADIN 16

But since it’s so close one final level in Paladin would be good for one final ASI: again more Constitution means more health and AC, but more Charisma will boost all your Paladin abilities!

Speaking of Paladin abilities you can prepare one more spell before we start taking more Barbarian levels... honestly you can pick your poison as it won’t matter much when your Raging!

...Wait.

WHY NO BARBARIAN LEVELS?

There’s a lot of things that I can’t do as a Barbarian. The most notable option that would be restricted if I went pure Barbarian would be Freedom of Movement, and while crowd control is somewhat rare in D&D being able to ignore it is far more important to Olaf as a character.

There’s also no Barbarian that has lifesteal besides Path of the Beast, and the only Barbarian that can throw its axe easily is Path of Wild Magic. Obviously neither of these fit Olaf.

Ultimately Paladin gave us more of Olaf’s abilities. The only ability that Barbarians have which fit Olaf other than Unarmored Defense and I guess Unarmored Movement would be Feral Instinct. But even the Barbarian subclasses don’t fit Olaf with the only ones which make any sense being maybe Totem Warrior? (Despite Olaf’s title Berserker wouldn’t fit him well, mostly because Berserker is a bad subclass.) But we miss out on so many of Olaf’s actual abilities by making him a Barbarian.

tl;dr Barbarians can’t do magic and Olaf has a ton of abilities that can only be recreated in D&D with magic

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Urge to kill rising... - Two-Weapon Fighting really doesn’t get the respect it deserves by the D&D community. You wouldn’t be able to get three attacks as a level 11 Paladin in any other way, meaning that you can truly capitalize on Improved Divine Smite. Not to mention the general increased DPS of 3 attacks and 3 chances to Smite!

Faster to battle! - It was not my intention but Glory Paladins are surprisingly good team players with a variety of spells and abilities that can keep your team alive and increase their strength in battle.

Obliteration! - You’re fairly hard to kill... oops. But between decently high health, spells to defend yourself, and damn high saving throws no matter how you increase your Charisma you’ll be quite a challenge to eventually take down! Sure your AC might suck... we should probably talk about that.

CONS

The worth of a man can be measured by the length of his beard, and the girth of his belt buckle - Hey remember that one Barbarian level I took pretty much entirely so you could have Unarmored Defense? Yeah honestly it’s gimping you hard, to the point that even Mage Armor would give you more AC. Honestly playing this build as Fighter 4 / Paladin 16 would be far better as you’d get one more ASI at the cost of actually having to wear armor. Hell going full Paladin 20 would give you the Living Legend capstone which is crazy strong, and while the loss of Action Surge would hurt you can grab the Thrown Weapon Fighting Style with a feat. (Or just take Two-Weapon Fighting style with your Variant Human Feat and run around with Hand Axes.)

If you’re really dead-set on going unarmored beg your DM for a Barrier Tattoo: either a Rare one (you’ll still need 14 DEX for something something legally-not-Medium Armor) or a Very Rare one (so you don’t even have to worry about Dexterity.) You can even go the Tahm Kench route and grab Eldritch Adept for Disguise Self to look unarmored if it’s really that important to you.

Well that was a pretty long con to say “Barbarian Olaf bad.” What else is there?

Chop chop! - Who would’ve guessed that dumping both mental stats would make you a dummy? While Aura of Protection saves you to some extent the party won’t be turning to you for any History checks.

Finally, some fun! - You have a rather silly amount of spells relative to your spell slots, and a good number of them are Concentration as well. Throwing all your slots to the wind to Divine Smite with reckless abandon sounds fun but managing both your Concentration and your spell slots will take some effort.

But your choice to go in without armor is just a self-handicap after all: you really want to die, and prove yourself in death! Fight the toughest fights and take down the strongest foes until you finally prove your prophecy wrong and fall before the blade of the mightiest foe! But perhaps you should instead sit down and have a muffin, and think about why you truly want to die die die.

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

[zsweber-studios]

Sebastian Adrianis DeMarc Jean-Luc Perinal

or

The True-Heir Transmuter

(art by @the-east-art​)

Born to Antoine Leonidas Perinal and his wife Gabrielle Perinal, Sebastian’s early life was one of comfort and ease. Though not rich, his family was never left needing more--even if his father often seemed very frustrated with their less-than-luxurious lifestyle--and even had a comfortable townhome themselves to live in. Sebastian was aware that his father’s older twin brother was rich, having inherited most of the family wealth upon reaching adulthood, but he didn’t care much on this until he was older, around ten years old.

Sebastian had always shown himself to be incredibly bright and intelligent, but he truly blossomed around the age of ten. About that time, Sebastian stumbled upon an old journal that had been left in the attic since Sebastian’s father moved into the comfortable townhome. Upon reading it, Sebastian discovered the true weight and meaning behind the Perinal family name, and the true tragedy in being cut off from the majority of the Perinal family inheritance.

The journal was that of the Perinal family’s founder, Jean-Luc Perinal--a gifted alchemist responsible for his family’s current wealth through his inventing of various potions and elixirs that were now used and sold in various apothecaries and magic shops throughout the kingdom. He was also a gifted wizard, and from his journal entries, Sebastian found a love for magic, and began practicing on his own, in secret.

Unfortunately, his studies of his many-times-great-grandfather’s arcane writings came to an abrupt end when he realized the rest of Jean-Luc’s works were kept in the Perinal family vault, something no one outside of the main family could access. And, because Antoine had been born just a minute later than his brother, he and his family were no longer considered true inheritors of that legacy.

For the first time, Sebastian felt true indignation for the confusing inner-house politics of his own family. According to Jean-Luc’s writings, the person he considered a true inheritor of his will and wealth was someone who followed in his footsteps--someone with a love of magic and life, inventive and investigative, who pushed boundaries and sought the secrets of the universe. In Sebastian’s eyes, he fit the mold perfectly, while the ‘true inheritors’ of the main family were all lazy, too focused on the business, and not one of them with an ounce of arcane proficiency.

From that moment onward, Sebastian made it his goal to prove himself the true inheritor of Jean-Luc’s will. He would follow in his footsteps and become a powerful alchemist and wizard as is ancestor had done, and seek to earn his right to access those ancient tomes.

His father disapproved. Magic was a waste of time, in Antoine’s mind, and Sebastian would do far better to study business and economics, preparing himself to attend the local private school and be groomed into the man his father wanted him to be. Thankfully, Antoine did not have final say in the matter--Gabrielle had taken note of her son’s burgeoning arcane skill, and had already set him up to try for a spot at Nindovia Academy of the Arcane, in the capitol city.

By the time Antoine found out of this, it was too late--Sebastian had been accepted, and would be leaving in the fall of his eleventh year.

Sebastian spent seven years at the Academy, delving into every textbook and spellbook he could get his hands on. He worked hard, burning the candle at both ends with late nights and early mornings. By his seventh year, he was top student in every field--Evocation, Abjuration, Illusion, Conjuration, and especially Necromancy and Transmutation. He was so gifted, in fact, that during the school’s yearly arcane talents festival, he caught the eye of an archmage.

Devexian Yngvelja was an archmage gifted in transmutation himself. He’d heard word of a Perinal at the school, and as a fellow practitioner of the art the legendary Jean-Luc had perfected, he needed to meet the young man for himself. He was certainly impressed, and after getting a chance to meet him offered Sebastian the opportunity to become his apprentice and study directly under him for the next ten years--something Sebastian was quick to accept.

When he returned home to celebrate his graduation and acceptance as an archmage’s apprentice, he found the atmosphere at home odd. Though his mother and three younger siblings were all proud and excited for him, his father was more aloof than normal, and even more embittered over their less-than-luxurious lifestyle. Apparently, his rising through the ranks of the arcane in the capitol city wasn’t good enough in his father’s eyes to pay whatever debt he owed for being raised by him.

There was...a fight. Words exchanged. A door slammed behind a frustrated young man who left in a huff. And bags packed to go by dawn the next morning. Sebastian left to the capitol, and while he wrote his mother often, he didn’t return home for years.

On his twenty-fourth birthday, however, he got word from home. Tragedy had struck the main branch of the Perinal family--a sickness had come and claimed the lives of first the children, then their staff, and finally the head of the house himself, Antoine’s older twin brother. Sebastian returned home suddenly to join his family in grieving and to attend the funeral. His father, as always, was aloof to the situation--but everyone grieves in their own way.

That night, Antoine left to fill the papers necessary to accept the title and rights as the new head of the Perinal family. Sebastian stayed with his mother and sibliings, putting them to bed and helping comfort her, before he finally went to sleep in his old bedroom. His world had changed so fast--in just a few hours time, he would go from simply a Perinal, to a DeMarc Jean-Luc Perinal, the direct descendant and inheritor of Jean-Luc’s will.

Unfortunately, yet more would change.

At around midnight, Sebastian woke to smoke. Pushing himself out of his bed, he found the house wreathed in orange flames, smoke filling the room. He tried getting out through his bedroom door, but it was jammed--something on the other side was keeping it lodged shut. Even worse, he could hear the screams from down the hall, his younger siblings screaming in fear as the fires drew closer. Seeing no other option, Sebastian burst through his bedroom window, then ran around to the front to run back in and save his family.

There was a man out front. Sebastian didn’t recognize him, but he was dressed in dark clothes like a rogue, a hood over his head. The man rushed at him, casting magic to try and overwhelm Sebastian--Sebastian was quicker. It was all a blur, a flurry of spells, but by the end, Sebastian was standing over a cold and lifeless corpse as his family’s townhome, the one he’d grown up in since an infant, crumbled to the ground.

The authorities came quick, and though they were quick to assume the well known wizard had caused the arcane fire that consumed his own home, Sebastian was able to provide the body of a nameless corpse to clear himself. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel wracked with guilt. If he’d been faster, if he’d been stronger, if he’d used a better spell, maybe, maybe he could’ve saved his mother and siblings. Instead, he and his father were the only ones still alive.

Rather than sink down into that grief, though, Sebastian felt resolve settle. Someone had done this. That man he’d killed, he was clearly just a pawn. Someone had wanted his family dead--but for what reason? He didn’t know, but he would find out. As soon as the funeral for his family closed, Sebastian packed his bags once more, leaving his home far behind him, and focused on finding out who was responsible for this.

[creativerogues]

Player’s Guide: Meet The Archmages of Capitol!

Well the Player’s Guide is coming together really well, and thanks to @dnd-chamyra-studies, as well as @paradigmanomaly and @nickle-snatcher for providing so much help on building the City of Capitol.

But without any further delay, let’s get into the details...

Archmage of Illusion, The Archmage Indefinable

The Archmage of Illusion never shares his actual name, and often creates elaborate illusions and personas to hide himself.

He’s a High-Level Wizard (obviously) with the magical capabilities to create up to 8 Illusory Duplicates thanks to his ability to cast Mirror Image at-will, and he’s almost accompanied by his Simulacrum, who can do the same...

He’s used many fancy names and personas to hide his identity: Example names include Salem, Owahl, Zakalis and Morgan.

The Archmage of Illusion became famous for being so powerful that when the rival Kingdom of Rassumurait attempted to sail to the shores of Capitol, he disguised the stars they used to navigate so that they ended up lost at sea and where forced to retreat...

What does he look like?

He’s an older Halfling Man, lightly hunched in posture with wild curly grey hair with an arrow through it like a makeshift hairpin. He’s well over 3-foot-tall, even while hunched over, with gross old barefoot hobbit feet with excessive foot hair, his toenails have clearly never been trimmed, and he seems to have some sort of exotic fungal disease on his feet, even starting to develop small mushrooms...

Because when you literally always have a disguise or illusion on you, you don’t really need to look good or wash at all...

He carries a small wooden staff like a cane, and in his other hand he often holds a pipe.

The Archmage of Illusion is known for levitating in conversations with the other Archmages, so they can speak eye-to-eye rather than top-of-head to crotch; and he has a nervous habit of letting out a little giggle whenever he tells the truth.

He’s also recently become addicted to the Laumadorian Plant known as ‘Weeping Flak’, smoking it and adding it like spice and sugar to everything they consume, since Weeping Flak (also known as Bluegrass) is also known to increase one’s arcane powers for a short time after consumption.

Archmage of Enchantment, Father Jack

Father Jack? Well this handsome dwarven wizard used to get every girl he wanted into bed since his beard started to grow. You may be asking why the Archmages call him Father Jack, better pose that question to his 122 Sons and 99 Daughters...

He’s short, stocky, and very clearly dwarven to anyone that looks at him. His skin is slightly tanned from his days on the coast, and his face carries a big bulbous red nose at its center.

His beard seems quite magnificent, with ornate brass and bronze bands adorning their beard. Their beard is also very obviously dyed. There are streaks of grey that have been colored to match their original shade, but don’t quite match.

Another odd feature is his left eye, since he’s missing it, and it appears he’s had a chunk of solid gold carved to look like an eye implanted in the place of his left eye.

He wears a copper ring on one finger, a ring with intricate carvings on its surface, and this Archmage always seems to be followed by a smell of rum and alcohol on his breath...

Archmage of Conjuration, Archmage Butterfly

Her full name is ‘Clawed Butterfly’. A Conjuration Wizard who is always accompanied by her Faithful Hound and her Unseen Servant. She often chooses to use Misty Step rather than walking...

She’s feline and cat-like in appearance, she often wears an ombre-dyed hood that reminds you of a hunting cat. Meanwhile the feline tail of the Archmage winds and flickers with a mind of its own.

She has cat-like slits for eyes, and just to confirm; Yes, she’s a Tabaxi Wizard.

She has tattoos across her face, starting from the corner of her mouth to the edge of her eye, but barely visible under her tabaxi hair.

Her right arm is bizarre and unnatural: One of her arms is a slightly different tone, and slightly shorter in length than the other one, her right-hand having steel claws that appear to be artificially attached to her fingertips.

Her left arm is even more bizarre: She has an extra hand coming out of her left wrist. This extra hand is as small as a child’s and is blackened and seems to be of no use: A failed conjuration experiment perhaps?

She also has an eye on the palm of her left hand, something she hides behind her back in her always regal-looking pose while speaking.

Archmage of Evocation, Archmage Damascus Iados

A Tiefling Evocation Wizard with bright flames that flicker across the back of their hands, and smaller, heatless flames seem to flicker across their skin while the earth seems to tremor slightly while he walks.

In charge of the Tower of Evocation, Archmage Iados is a Tiefling Man with bright red skin, a bald head and two curling horns atop his head like those of a wild ram.

He wears blue and green robes that flow down to his feet, and every so often has heatless flames flickering across his skin before sputtering out on their own.

His left hand has three fingers, while his right hand has seven, and both hands seem to glow very faintly with a low white flame...

Archmage of Abjuration, Archmage Neskul Nyultin

Urban legends say that there used to be a Silver Dragonborn Wizard so skilled in the magics of Abjuration, yet so paranoid, that he stayed deep underground within his Tower, surrounded by a bubble of powerful magics, though when forced to go outside in-person, he sits cross-legged on a Tenser’s Floating Disk, with a globe of protective magics around him at all times...

Archmage Neskul Nyultin is a Dragonborn Wizard with glimmering silver scales, as is usually seen cross-legged on a small disk of force that floats above the ground. His legs seem withered from atrophy, and his body seems very thin for a Dragonborn...

A shimmering globe of arcane wards almost always surrounds him, as he’s almost always seen with his hands inwards, his fingers intertwined and seemingly always concentrating on the many spells that protect his being.

This Dragonborn Archmage has several scales missing and a long deep gash running along his face. He has two long, spiny and membranous ears, and a slightly off-center snout, akin to a poorly reset broken nose.

Upon his head sit two overly curled horns, and in his chest glows a dragonborn heart, a heart that glows bright enough to be seen beneath his scales and through the sphere of arcane wards that surround him.

 After an encounter with a Red Dagger Assassin as a young Archmage, Neskul has become paranoid, as he knows the Red Daggers are master assassins that always get their target, one way or another. 

This paranoia has caused him to become shut-off and shut-in, though he still teaches the students of his Tower through the use of Simulacrums, Projected Images and various other methods of magic, all while hiding himself away deep within the underground of his Tower of Abjuration...

Archmage of War, Archmage Leowynn Wynanthal

A High Elf War Wizard and Bladesinger, Archmage Leowynn is probably the most prominent figure in Capitol aside Archmage Iados.

An elf with pearl-colored hair that seems to glow in the light, with long and curved ears and incredibly long eyebrows with a small pointed nose. He has pale skin, his face having splotches the color of red wine, with exotic runes carved onto his forearms and a long thin rapier by his side.

He wears flowing robes that looks as if they’re made from specks of starlight, he also wears elven ear clasps made of spun silver and an engraved leather archery bracer on his left wrist.

He has many scars and callouses along his forearms, perhaps formed over many brutal sparring sessions.

But his hands can sometimes be the most fascinating thing about him. He has a recessive finger on each hand, and a Holy Symbol of the Black Hand of Bane branded onto his right hand.

Leowynn is maybe my favorite Archmage out of the lot. He’s the Archmage in charge of both the Tower of War that trains War Wizards, and the War College that trains up the regular infantrymen and soldiers.

He’s probably the most publicly seen figure, and his whole host of magic items, from Bracers of Archery to his Robe of Stars to everything else he carries, also makes him look the part of an Archmage (he’s also the only Archmage to travel to another Plane of existence...)

He’s also known for his spats and arguments with the other Archmages, since the War College has always had an uneasy alliance with the Edhel Halls Library, and with Archmage Leowynn being one of the few Archmages to of taken part in the War Underground between the Elves of the West and the Drow of the East over 50 Years ago, he’s probably the oldest Archmage in the King’s Council, but he seems to favor Archmage Iados and students from the Tower of Evocation especially...

Archmage of Necromancy, Archmage Froja Dundrek

Ya haven’t heard of the old tale of Froja’s head? Well let me tell ya!

There was once a Wizard called Froja who got sentenced to death for using Necromancy and black magics back when it was still a crime, before the War Underground basically. She managed to break free and sneak into the Archives of the Edhel Halls, the place that holds all the scrolls with the old magics in ‘em. She found a spell in those forbidden pages, one that granted her eternal life.

After she cast the Spell, she went in-front of the King himself and asked for forgiveness before demanding her freedom, he refused. Put her in Jail and chopped off her head the next day.

Well as it turns out, she’s still alive! And she now teaches other Wizards. But they still keep her head as a training object for young students...

The best way to describe Froja’s apperance is that of a headless corpse.

She’s a shadowy and shrouded figure, wearing boots and thick black leather straps around the ankles. She also wears grey patterned pants and a slender thin belt made of the same black leather.

A shimmering feathered shawl drapes from her shoulders like a pair of dark wings, and a brooch that seems to be made of woven strands of pure silver hangs from her left breast.

And above her shoulders is a collar made of woven tree twigs, the twigs and sticks thorny and withered black. 

And finally, above this collar, where a head would be, there’s nothing at all! No head, and yet the body lives on...

Archmage Neskul has been at odds with Archmage Froja since the beginning, with Archmage Neskul begging Froja time and time again to reveal whatever magics and spells she used to maintain this life (or un-life) for eternity, never being able to truly die. And time and time again Froja had refused his advances, never revealing even a single detail about the spell she used to gain this eternal life...

Archmage of Transmutation, Drasaaria Argal

There once was a Transmutation Wizard so prolific that eventually any gold coming into her city was treated like scrap metal to her...

Archmage Argal is a Half-Drow Transmutation Wizard, and probably the only figure with a dark elf bloodline that’s tolerated by most people in the Capitol. When she joined the King’s Council, the uproar was tremendous, as the War Underground between the Elves of the West and the Drow had ended not a decade before...

But you wouldn’t think she’s a half-drow if you looked at her, because her skin isn’t dark... It’s metallic!

Her skin has a shine to it like a fine polished metal, and some might even mistake her for a statue standing in the room if you didn’t know her...

She wears very little actual clothing, but hold onto your thirst because she still wears clothes, specifically a pair of white gloves woven from the finest spider silk, while an ornate ear-cuff in the fashion of an orchid spirals around her left ear.

Her leggings have an opalescent sheen, and she’s also one of the many Archmages that likes to stand and walk barefoot...

Argal is another one of my favorites, and I knew I wanted to put a Drow on the Council because I just wanted to see what would happen...

And trust me when I say she’s no pushover, as my Players have found out time and time again.

That shiny skin she has: That’s Adamantine. Yep, she transmuted her skin to become living adamantine, so you try facing down a 20th Level Archmage with 23 AC...

 And she’s also been known to horribly torture people the Council wants dead, or wants answers from. She’s turned a guy’s brains into mercury, polymorphed a guy into a robin before turning said bird into a tiny solid gold statue, she’s even wiped a Player’s memory clean using Programmed Amnesia... She’s a mean one...

She’s also one of the Wizards (alongside Archmage Froja) who’s at odds with Archmage Neskul, since he keeps asking her how she got her adamantine skin and she keeps refusing to answer him.

And due to most of the other Archmages just barely tolerating the presence of a Drow on their Council, that just means she trains up her students in the Tower of Transmutation even harder, which often results in the Tower of Transmutation producing some of the most powerful Mages...

Archmage of Divination, Archmage Ofyne Yuvidet

There used to be a Wizard so skilled in divination magics that she never bothered having a conversation, because she already knew how it was going to end...

Ofyne is a Human Wizard and the Archmage of Divination. She wears old dull blur robes over tattered clothing. She has long and frizzy graying-brown hair that falls just below her shoulders, with what looks like small woodland critters wriggling around in her hair...

Her body seems incredibly damaged. Her hands are stained multiple colors of brown and green, and acid burns that run along both hands.

On her right hand is a small blackened sixth finger that twitches of its own volition. She also possesses what’s left of a still-attached left hand. It looks like it was crushed but was never amputated. She also has a horrid burn mark running down from her left elbow to her crushed hand.

One leg seems severely deformed: Ofyne uses a set of double crutches to walk, but more often floats and flies around as she finds it far easier on her body. She’s also one of the Wizards that walks barefoot, and smells of burnt tea leaves!

She seems blind, her eyes pale and clouded over with cataracts in her old age, with bags under her eyes that suggests she probably hasn’t slept comfortably in many years...

She has no nose, instead having a big hole where her nose would be, and her mouth is permanently crooked, giving her a cocky smirk and almost wicked grin. However, Ofyne wears a prosthetic nose and mask made of silvery-blue mithral, which keeps the prosthetic in place while partially obscuring her face to prying eyes.

Small mushrooms emerge and grow from her neck and shoulders, she also has several scars around her neck, some apparently self-inflicted, almost like she’s had her throat slit multiple times and healed from every wound...

Ofyne (or Archmage Yuvidet if you want to call her that) is probably the most interesting Archmage. She hasn’t cut or groomed her hair in over 8 Years, and her eyes seem to glow when near poison or fresh blood.

She’s in charge of the Library of Saturnity in Fostin, ans she’s also one of the very few Archmages that’s actually allied with Archmage Neskul.

However, the Archmage of Divination is currently missing and has been missing for some number of months now, but this has yet to become public knowledge...

Ofyne is probably the oldest Human on the Council (aside from Archmage Froja and that eternal life thing she has going on...) and Ofyne’s seen a lot.

You’d think for a Divination Wizard she’d be fine right, no scratches at all because she knows the future...

Well when you have to take orders from the King, the Hand of the King, and a bunch of Archmages (lest you be straight up murdered), you’re forced into situations where you know you’re going to get messed up. (Google ‘The Seven Against Thebes’ if you want to see where I got some inspiration...)

And that’s all the Archmages!

And yes, I know there’s other Wizard Schools like the School of Invention and the School of Onomancy, but since those aren’t Official Subclasses yet, I’m yet to make them canon in my world, so no, there is no Archmage of Onomancy or Archmage of Invention... Yet!

But tell me what you think of the Archmages of Capitol, what are your first impression, are they to be trusted?

Let me know in the Comments with your Replys and Reblogs!

[madokasoratsugu]

dont have the time for designing anything rn but i want a cinderella phenomenon dnd/rpg au so bad. here are my Thoughts:

general idea: Lucette is on a quest to find her mother, and along the way meets some friends, both old and new. (whether she kills or befriends them - that’s a part of the story now, isn’t it?) 

Lucette: Neutral (later on Lawful Good) Sorcerer. specialises in ice and lighting, more of a support because of her currently untamed (and very wild) magic casting. may be cursed ? still trying to figure that out. gets tired easily due to low strength.

Fritz: Lawful Neutral Paladin. Lucette’s knight, has been with her on the quest since the beginning. bad at constitution; susceptible to mental attacks. maybe the real treasure was the long lost twin brother we found along the way. can charm a town with his rogue. 

Varg: Neutral Evil (later on Chaotic Neutral) Rogue. good at picking locks + pockets and killing. dont touch him without warning. very charismatic, but intelligence is in the fucking pits. will eat a raw tomato whole. makes a deadly fighting combo with his paladin. 

Rumpel: Lawful Good Cleric. has limited magic due to punishment from his God, Runia. doesn’t like to fight, but can wield a short sword. mvp of the team, if not for his low dexterity. not so agile, hit or miss kinda guy. always on point with his spells, though.

Waltz: Chaotic Good Evocation Wizard. kind of an all rounder, but honing abjuration skills. easily the most experienced adventurer. keeping his reason for the constant adventuring a secret. due to an old curse, has random disadvantage on his stats.

Karma: Neutral Good Fighter. primarily uses the rapier, but skilled in all other weapons. worst at long distance. relies a little too much on his charisma; bad when he’s fucking cursed to have dicey charisma. has no concept of money. banned from collecting treasure.

Rod: Lawful Good Bard. good charisma but mute so cant talk his way out of anything. primarily plays flute or lyre. except Lucette, no one knows why he’s adventuring. so fucking bad at combat, more of support. entrusted with the funds of the party. 

bonus:

Mythros: Lawful Evil Warlock. doesn’t join the party. doesn’t show up on the (first) quest. never discussed. somehow most of the members in the party are all looking for him (but do they know that?). how odd.

Delora: Chaotic Good Sorcerer. always at every town the party goes to. houses them every time for some reason. exchange a song or a sack of gold for a line of wisdom. exchange a lesson learnt for her genuine smile.

Parfait: Lawful Good Druid. unassuming and familiar. the party meets her on the first quest. they don’t realise they have until the last. maybe its too late by then. maybe not.

Hildyr: Chaotic Evil (once Neutral Good) Sorcerer. waiting. 

[godaime-obito]

my fill for Madatobi week: August 3rd: Supernatural/fantasy

@madatobiweek

available on ao3 or under the cut

Tobirama approaches the great castle reluctantly. He’d much rather not be here, but as the most renowned necromancer of the age he really cannot skip the most important convening of wizards. It only happens once a decade and people will notice if he skips, unlike ten years ago. When he was a 28-year-old upstart he left early to make out with Madara Uchiha in the woods by the castle and no one noticed. Of course, that entire scenario is a lifetime away, Madara himself is supposedly a premier illusionist now. He really can’t picture it. Tobirama hasn’t seen Madara in eight years, and at that point the man’s primary form of wizardry was accidently setting things on fire, which isn’t even part of the Illusionist school of magic.

He walks briskly through the entry towards the main meeting chamber. The ornate chandeliers overhead glimmer with enchanted flame, and the smell of magic clings everywhere. It’s an invigorating feeling, and the atmosphere of the event almost makes up for its content. Unfortunately, though, nothing can entirely make up for a full day of arguing between the top members of all eight schools of wizardry: Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, Transmutation. Tobirama and his colleague Orochimaru’s main goal for this meeting is to adjust regulation and the education template to better promote Necromancy, which is to say try to improve PR, so it isn’t the ‘evil’ school. Personally, he thinks it would be easier to run a smear campaign against another school so it becomes the evil one, the school of Illusion perhaps. He’s not just saying that because of Madara, the school’s emphasis is ‘Deception and trickery.’ Using such negatively connotated words is asking for a smear campaign.

In the chamber, everything is almost precisely as he remembers it being ten years ago, for the short bit he did attend at least. However, there is a feeling in the air that he does not recall. A sour tinge to the ambient magic, that grows stronger the closer he draws to the alter at the head of the room.  Tobirama glances around to see if anyone else notices, but no one is acting as though anything is wrong. Perhaps he’s being paranoid, but his magic sensing has always been a cut above the rest.

Tobirama turns sharply and retreats out of the chamber. Until he figures out the cause he’s not exposing himself to the alter and whatever is wrong with it. Worried about the potential disaster something going wrong at a meeting like this could trigger, he hurries toward the castle library. Hopefully he has time for some research. Rounding a corner, he smacks into something, no, someone.

Madara. He appears to have been in just as much of a hurry as Tobirama, and just as surprised at running into him. His hair is disheveled with pieces falling out of its high ponytail, and his face is flushed. As soon as his shock wears off Madara sets right into his customary sputtering. One of them is going to have to move this encounter along.

“Madara, how… good to see you,” Tobirama says.

“Don’t say it like that!” Madara seethes. He really hasn’t changed a bit.

“Say it like what?” he asks.

“You know exactly what I mean!” he says, and flicks some of his loose hair out of his eyes with more frustration than Tobirama thought could be put into such a small gesture. “Actually, it doesn’t matter. What are you doing away from the meeting?” he continues.

On second thought Madara has changed. He must have gotten some anger management to just let it go like that. Tobirama is reluctantly impressed; perhaps this is a manifestation of the breakthrough that finally allowed him to move on from his long-lasting accidental fire phase.

“Something is wrong with the alter, and no one else seemed inclined to investigate. I won’t be attending till it’s fixed,” Tobirama explains.

“You felt it too!” he exclaims, then continues in a more subdued manner, “or at least something similar. I’ve been running around trying to figure out what was going on, since I sensed some strange illusion magics in the main chamber.”

“I sensed a sour tinge to the magic originating from the alter in the main chamber, and was headed to the library to look into it,” he clarifies, “but knowing it is likely illusion based does give me a point to start researching at.”

“I’m coming with you,” Madara asserts. Tobirama starts moving towards the library without answering. If he wants to come he’s completely free to follow. Tobirama hardly has monopoly of access to the library.

They’ve been looking through illusion magic tombs, as well as any books they believe might have information on the alter itself, for about two hours and have yet to make any headway. The meeting has probably hit full swing, and if two people of their caliber don’t show up soon, someone is likely to come looking for them. Maybe whoever it is can help them look through the shelves. Although, it has been nice to spend time alone with Madara again after all these years.

Technically they split amicably when they broke up eight years ago. They agreed they were simply at two different places, and with their careers to think of, didn’t have the time to make it work. However, in practice neither of them are the type to take a split from something they were that invested in well, so they ended up faintly bitter. Tobirama and Madara are both at the tops of their fields now, in more stable places both career wise and, as it seems from Madara’s improved temper, emotionally. Is this impromptu study session a sign to give it another try? Tobirama can’t help but think it might be.

He is deciding what to say to broach the topic tactfully, when a great rumble shakes the library. Tomes and scrolls fall from the towering shelves with great thuds, and a few of the shelves themselves look ready to collapse. He and Madara jump from their seats and race out the door simultaneously to find the whole castle is shaking. The strange magic is spreading out from the main chamber, and rapidly changing from an off-putting sour feeling to a corrupt black miasma. Running towards the source, Tobirama spots a prone figure laying on the hall floor.

“Orochimaru?” he calls. He crouches down to check on his fellow necromancer. He must have been coming to see why Tobirama never met up with him. He’s alive, but seems to be caught by the spreading corruption.

“Whatever this is it’s caught him in an illusion,” Madara announces from where he is peering over Tobirama’s shoulder at him.

“If he’s only in an illusion what’s causing the very physical shaking?” he wonders.

Madara opens his mouth to reply, but stops short when a tremor grows under their feet, and a large white substance bursts from the ground. Great white tendrils form from the viscous liquid and encase Orochimaru. Tobirama grabs Madara by the arm and takes off toward the nearest window as the tendrils reach towards them.

“Prepare for a sudden exit,” he shouts over the renewed sound of crumbling stone. Tobirama breaks through the stain glass window, with Madara right behind him. They both hit the ground from the second story window rolling, and transition cleanly into a run.

“Oh gods! She returns!”

“Who the fuck returns Madara? Is this some illusionist nonsense?” Tobirama yells. He does not have time for cryptic babble while running for his life.

“The evil goddess Kaguya. This must be her,” Madara says. They’ve gotten a good distance into the forest and slowed their pace. The corruption’s spread seems to have slowed significantly from its initial outburst. At least for now.

“Is the evil goddess Kaguya an illusion related evil goddess? Is that why you know about her supposed return?”

“… She wasn’t always evil,” Madara defends.

Tobirama knew the school of illusion was the real evil school of wizardry. Oh gods, he’s going to be stuck on some sort of goddess slaying quest, isn’t he? He takes back what he thought earlier, he doesn’t want to get back together with Madara at all.

This is basically the start of d&d style adventure, where Madara, Tobirama, Touka, Izuna, are sent on a quest by the sage of the six paths, along with his high priestess Princess Mito of Uzu, to retrieve his staff and journey back to the alter to use the staff to destroy it and stop Kaguya’s return. Along the way Madara and Tobirama get back together, and Mito and Touka elope. Izuna is a bard who has a fun time with various people along the way.